Thu, 09 Oct 2025

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 All Post Office Horizon victims entitled to free legal advice for first time

Responding to the first stage of the inquiry into the scandal, the government said it had accepted all but one of the recommendations.

* Over 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted after the faulty Horizon computer system made it look like money was missing from their branch accounts.
* Hundreds of others poured their own savings into their branch to make up apparent shortfalls in order to avoid prosecution.
* The government has accepted all but one of the recommendations relating specifically to Horizon, including providing free legal advice to victims claiming compensation.
* There are now three compensation schemes for victims in various circumstances, and over £1.2bn has been paid out to more than 9,000 claimants across these schemes.
* A new appeals process will be set up for postmasters who accepted a fixed payout under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) scheme, which includes funded legal advice.
* The Post Office has agreed a deadline of January 2026 for accepting new applications to the HSS scheme.
* Fujitsu, the company that provided the Horizon IT system, has apologized for its role in sub-postmasters' suffering.
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